This invention relates to an information access technology for accessing a computer system located on a global communication network (hereinafter, referred to as xe2x80x9cthe internetxe2x80x9d) using content data, for example, a HTML file obtained from a broadcast signal, for example, a television broadcast signal.
The assignee of the present application has proposed a technology wherein content data available in or related to the internet is multiplexed to a broadcast signal to reach a spread number of receivers. The content data is used at a receiver site to access information placed on the internet. (Japanese Patent Application H9-122683) According to that proposal, for example, web data and/or icon data is multiplexed to a television broadcast signal, and is displayed on a screen at a receiver site. A user performs a click operation at a reference area of the web data or at a icon area to make a TCP/IP connection for accessing a WWW (World-Wide Web) server and then easily obtains certain information.
By the way, it is desirable, for organizations, for example, traders who offer information services by WWW servers, to distinguish access to a server site through the multiplexed broadcast signal from usual kinds of access, and to measure a frequency at which the multiplexed broadcast signal is used for the access to the server site. Moreover, it is desirable to know what kind of people access the server site.
The purpose of the present invention is accordingly to enable to distinguish from usual access, the access to a server site using information propagated through a multiplexed broadcast signal.
According to one aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an information access method comprising the steps of: multiplexing content data and origin data to a broadcast signal; transmitting the multiplexed broadcast signal; receiving the multiplexed broadcast signal; extracting the content data and the origin data from the multiplexed broadcast signal thus received; accessing a computer system on a network using the extracted content data; and, while accessing the computer system, supplying the extracted origin data to the computer system on the network.
More specifically, a broadcast station transmits a broadcast signal having content data origin data both multiplexed thereto. An information access system receives the broadcast signal, and extracts the content data and origin data. The content data includes for example a HTML file or a icon data. The information access system displays the content data and access to a server for example WWW server located on the internet using the display of the content data on the screen. While accessing the server, the information access server transfers the origin data to the server. The server stores the origin data and uses it immediately or later. The server discriminates the access using the content data multiplexed to the broadcast signal, from other types of access, using the origin data stored therein.
In this aspect, the origin data is identification of the method of accessing the server, and can include at least one of a broadcast entity name, a broadcast program title, and broadcast time data in connection with the broadcast signal.
The origin data stored at the server can be retrieved later to analyze the access thereto.
The origin data can be converted into a protection state before the origin data is supplied to the computer system on the network. The conversion to the protection state is performed by encryption. The server should decrypt the encrypted data.
A computer program which is executed for accessing the computer system using the content data, can be designed to supply the origin data to the computer system. Alternatively, a computer program provided together with the content data, or provided by the computer system may supply the origin data to the computer system.
Information about the information access system can be transferred to the computer system. The information can be converted into a protection state before the information is supplied to the computer system on the network. The conversion to the protection state is performed by encryption. The server should decrypt the encrypted data. Protection information used for converting the information into the protection state can be multiplexed to the broadcast signal. The information about the information access system can be information about a user of the information access system.
According to another aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, a broadcast system comprising: a means for multiplexing content data and origin data to a broadcast signal; and, a means for transmitting the multiplexed broadcast signal.
According to a still other aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, a broadcast system comprising: a means for multiplexing content data, origin data and information about a protection method; and, a means for transmitting the multiplexed broadcast signal.
According to a still other aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an information access system comprising: a means for receiving a broadcast signal to which content data and origin data are multiplexed; a means for extracting the content data and the origin data from the received broadcast signal; a means for accessing a computer system on a network using the content data thus extracted; and, a means for supplying the origin data to the computer system on the network while accessing the computer system.
According to a still other aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an information access system comprising: a means for receiving a broadcast signal to which content data, origin data, and information about a protection method are multiplexed; a means for extracting the content data, the origin data, and the information about the protection method from the broadcast signal thus received; a means for accessing a computer system on a network using the content data; a means for converting information about the information access system into a protection state using the information about the protection method; and, a means for supplying the origin data and the information about the information access system to the computer system on the network while accessing the computer system, the information about the information access system being supplied to the computer system in the protection state.
According to a still other aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an information access system comprising: a means for receiving a broadcast signal including content data; a means for extracting the content data from the broadcast signal thus received; a means for generating origin data based on an operation state in which the broadcast signal is received; a means for accessing a computer system on a network using the content data; and, a means for supplying the origin data to the computer system on the network while accessing the computer system.
According to a still other aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an information access system comprising: a means for storing content data and origin data; a means for accessing a computer system on a network using the content data; and, a means for supplying the origin data to the computer system on the network while accessing the computer system.
According to a still other aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an information access system comprising: a means for storing content data and origin data; a means for storing information about the information computer system; a means for accessing a computer system on a network by using the content data; and, a means for supplying the origin data and the information about the information access system to the computer system on the network while accessing the computer network.
According to the present invention, the access to a server using such information transmitted by a broadcast signal or stored in a media for example a CD-ROM can discriminated from conventional access to the server.
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, given by way of illustration and not of limitation with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: